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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128198
You're back in the official Ducati factory fold you left at the end of 1997. Is that peculiar, or have you been running Ducatis so long now it's just another shirt to wear? It's not as peculiar as you may think. At the end of 1997, Ducati and I parted company, and I thought that was going to be it, almost forever. But because I've been with GSE for so many years, I've been reintroduced to the factory setup, paid many visits to the factory; I feel like I have become part of them again. Ducati then and Ducati now, from what I see, are two totally different companies. The setup seems to have improved loads. Everyone speaks English in the team, whereas before even my chief mechanic's English wasn't too good. Everyone has made me feel extremely welcome. Any regrets about leaving GSE because you have had some very good times with them? I feel like that is something I have done, and I have now moved on. I don't want that to sound disrespectful to GSE, but this coming season they are going to be running slightly substandard bikes compared to what we will be running - they will be a year behind. I know development doesn't always go in the right direction, but it looks like the new bike is going to be better than last year's bike. I didn't want to be in the position where I was going to be riding against people that are arguably on a better bike than me. So I've moved on, and I've no regrets. If GSE had got the Honda deal and run full factory bikes, then I may have been thinking that I had left at the wrong time. It's not that I wanted to ride Hondas, but if they had got a full-factory deal I would have left after four years - without having ridden on a factory deal. You have changed tires now as well, from Dunlop to Michelin, How similar are they to what you have used so far? Of all the changes, that was the only possible black cloud, the only possible negative thing. I was a little bit worried about changing tires. I knew Michelins are fantastic because I have been racing against them for the last couple of seasons, so they are obviously a great tire. But I didn't know if I could adapt to them or adapt them to my style. The two seasons I rode them before, I never really got on with them, but I tested them, and I was surprised how much they felt just like the Dunlops - and I was very pleased with the consistency. They have the same feel and slide like a Dunlop, but they have more consistency - so I was very pleased about that! I was concerned that they would give me more grip but less feel, which equals more crashes, and no one likes that. How do you think you will get on with Ruben Xaus, your new teammate? Because you have had words to say about him in the past. Personally, he doesn't seem too bad. I haven't really spent much time with him so far, so it's kind of difficult to judge. He speaks fantastic English, which helps the barriers between us. We had a few dealings last year, but nothing major. I certainly don't hold a grudge with anybody, and I'm starting the season wanting to be his best mate. We will spend a lot of time together - riding, PR, traveling so if we get on well then it makes the whole job easier. That's how I feel at the moment. Does it help that you are both quite tall and lanky? For setup and tire choice, etc,? Yeah, it probably will do. This is the first test [pre-Christmas at Valencia] that we have both been on a similar bike and tires, so I have no idea how he has his bike set or anything. Obviously once we do more testing, we'll see how it works. The grid of top factory teams and riders looks very thin for 2003. Would you rather be riding against top Honda and Aprilia riders and so on? Yes. There is no point in lying, and I would prefer that to be the case. I ended the season having finished third in the world on a semifactory bike, and Colin Edwards was going to be my teammate. Honda were staying in, Aprilia were staying in. I was looking forward to a good winter where I was positive, ready to come out fighting for the title, and I still genuinely believed that I could win the World Championship - even with Colin Edwards as my teammate. Some people might think that the recent changes might make me feel better but it hasn't. I'm disappointed. I have been depressed over the last two months rather than elated that the competition has thinned out slightly. But I am a professional, I get paid to race the motorcycle to the best of my ability, but I am a bit down about the whole situation. What do you reckon to the entrance of the Foggy Petronas team? Well, it has come at exactly the right time for the series, with the entrance of - do you call them another factory team? Dunno, but it is at the level of a factory effort. I just hope that their bike is really competitive, and I hope that they can run the same pace the Ducatis can. That will only add interest and be good for the sport. Do you think that by the time your three-year contract is up in 2005 that you will be racing against Honda and so on, all back with full factory bikes? I hope so, but at this stage there are so many rumors flying around - positive and negative, mostly negative - that I don't know any more than most other people know. I read the press, and one week it looks positive, the next negative. I think they will come back in 2004, but maybe that's just a bit of wishful thinking, but I am just trying to stay positive over the full thing. Is there a 'step-up' clause in your contract that states that if you win the title in World Superbike, you will be given an automatic Ducati ride in MotoGP? No, not at all. I haven't spoken to anyone at Ducati about it and it is not in my contract. For want of a better question, why not? Well, things have changed even since I signed my contract for 2003. MotoGP seems to have gone up two leagues, and World Superbike has gone cue I e n e _ S • JANUARY 29,2003 23